The Book Scientist

“Once upon a time we were briefly friends with benefits. Now we’re just friends at a benefit.”
― Sarina Bowen, Good Boy

“You looove me. You want to bond with me, make love and have babies,” he singsongs to me, and I laugh and then choke on the word babies. “Babies are a hard pass, bro,” I tell him, and he smiles at me like I’ve said nothing. “For real, Sabin,” I warn him,”
― Ivy Asher, The Marked and the Broken

“Genya—” David tried.
“Don’t you dare,” she said roughly, tears welling up again. “You never looked at me twice before I was like this, before I was broken. Now I’m just something for you to fix.”
I was desperate for words to soothe her, but before I could find any, David bunched up his shoulders and said, “I know metal.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Genya cried.
David furrowed his brow. “I … I don’t understand half of what goes on around me. I don’t get jokes or sunsets or poetry, but I know metal.” His fingers flexed unconsciously as if he were physically grasping for words. “Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what’s inside you? That’s steel. It’s brave and unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“Her reply takes a minute to arrive. Stop texting me or I’ll block you. Yup. She wants me.”
― Sarina Bowen, Good Boy